Your Nutrition and Food Safety Resource

Secondary menu

Main menu

Tamika Sims's blog

Some raw foods taste great and are good for you from a nutrition and food safety perspective. But from a food safety position, you should skip food fads that can put your health at risk—like eating raw chicken. Yes, eating raw chicken is trending. We thought we would set the record straight and inject some food safety and foodborne illness insights.

Food safety starts on farms, barns, groves, ranches and science labs—basically, it begins where food productivity is established and monitored. The farmers, ranchers, agronomists, botanists, veterinarians, various other scientists and other food production specialists all work together to support the reliability of our food supply.

Pesticide Residues

Farmers don’t just wear a straw hat, but they also must constantly wear their “thinking caps” too! Productive farming relies upon integrating efficient methods to feed, house and keep animals healthy. Also, famers have to map out effective ways of seeding, harvesting and protecting crops.

From animal welfare to sustainability, check out these resources to learn more about today's agriculture industry. You'll find information on the guidelines in place to make sure animals are raised properly; how farmers are using state-of-the-art technology to grow food more efficiently than ever before; information to help you understand why crops need protection from pests; and, how farmers conserve natural resources to make sure our food supply is sustainable.

I love the vibrant color of red velvet cupcakes. The deep, red coloring paired with the moist texture and slightly chocolatey taste is truly indulgent. But what gives these cupcakes their beautiful color? Food coloring.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the World Pork Expo (WPX) in Des Moines, Iowa. This annual meeting showcased strategies farmers and pork industry professionals use to take care of pigs that will enter the food supply. The meeting also gave me the chance to sample lots of pork treats, including chocolate ice cream with bacon inside. (Yum!)

The term “citrus greening” might sound harmless at first. “Citrus” refers to fruits like oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit. These fruits pack a punch for your vitamin C fix. But when we are ready to eat these fruits, green is not the color you are looking for (an orange should be orange, of course). Citrus greening (also called Huanglongbing or HLB) is a disease of citrus plants that is the opposite of harmless; it results in the depletion of orange harvests.

Slime is typically linked to snails, Ghost Busters, and Nickelodeon pranks. It probably is not something you want to eat or even think is in your hamburger, even if it is pink instead of the usual slime-green color. So, calling beef “slime” is not likely appetizing in any way. But, unfortunately, a simple beef product that is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has been used for decades, and is 100% beef, has fallen victim to gaining the “pink slime” nickname.